Journal of Language and Politics - Volume 18, Issue 4, 2019

Abstract

Political communication is expressed in politicians’ speeches, campaign advertisements and government statements. Politics are also articulated in music, in both traditional political contexts such as anthems and party political broadcasts as well as less traditional contexts including songs, promotional videos and live performances. There is a wide spectrum of opinions as to exactly what are relations between music and politics, though most scholars acknowledge it can communicate meanings, though again, what these are remains contentious. One way to better understand relations between music and politics and meanings expressed in music is to closely examine these issues through the prism of discourses analysis. Through such an examination, not only what is being communicated becomes clear, but also how this is done, contributing to the fields of political communication, musicology and discourse studies.

Abstract

Our paper argues that British singer Billy Bragg performs protest songs that cleverly draw upon musical forms underpinning his positioning as a voice of, and for, the ordinary person, ultimately disenfranchised by governmental adherence to neoliberal policies. While political songs are a product of their time, many of them can also transcend that historical moment and have a longer shelf-life in terms of their capacity to inform political thinking and action. Our song(s) of choice in this paper do so not just in terms of the relevance of their ‘literal’ message but also in how they draw upon traditional structures of feeling and generic elements of folk song to underpin this sense of ‘grass-roots’ critique via a modified, acoustic ballad form and a performance style. This serves to authenticate and legitimate the singer and his message and, in turn, allows Bragg to accumulate political and cultural capital.

Abstract

In this article I start from an understanding of songs as socio-cultural discourses which may also perform a political function. This political function can be reflected in the promotion of particular world-views about given socio-political events and/or in the attempt by the singer to make the audience perform given political actions. To prove this, I will look at the re-contextualisation process undergone by a well-known song by U2: “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” (1983). This song was originally written to respond to the violence of the Northern Irish conflict, but it has been later used to react to other socio-political events. By relying on a cognitive approach to the study of songs, this paper tries to answer two questions: (i) how can we explain the re-contextualisation process undergone by the song and why is it possible? and (ii) how is politics embedded in musical performances?

Abstract

Although the UK has a centuries-old history of subversive singing, since the election of a Conservative-led government in 2010 and imposition of austerity-based economic and social policies, the number of choirs with a political philosophy and mission has grown. The website CampaignChoirs lists around thirty political choirs committed to a left-wing, green or anarchist agenda, which is reflected in the music and related actions. This paper takes as its case study the Leeds-based Commoners Choir and considers how its musical decisions enable it to communicate protest politics. Using critical discourse analysis, this study adds to the dialogue on musical discourse by focusing on the speech acts contained within the lyrics; the social impact of the Commoners’ performances; and the use of dialect to root the works within a distinctly northern culture. It concludes that careful consideration of discourse can demonstrate a more measurable authenticity in an artistic act of protest.

Abstract

Colombia has experienced violence at the hands of both guerrillas and paramilitaries fighting to control territories, drug trafficking, and gain political influence. Though in recent years armed activities by both groups has subsided, their conflicting ideologies are visible in several contexts in today’s polarized Colombia. We tend to think about conflict in terms of bullets and people in military uniforms, but discourses of conflict are also evident in popular culture, such as music. In this paper, we analyse 19 corridos paracos, videos produced by sympathisers of Right-wing guerrilla groups, to demonstrate how this is done. Here, we find songs present a messianic portrayal of the paramilitary along with sexist ideas as the representation of manliness. Moreover, there is an almost total absence of peaceful actions in the lyrics, and an exaltation of brutality and terrorism. In a political context which cries out for reconciliation, these do little to this end.

Abstract

This paper examines how South Korean popular music (K-pop) promotes neoliberal feminism by a discourse of resilience. In a therapeutic narrative of overcoming obstacles and achieving goals, K-pop videos deliver a hegemonic message that individuals have to be responsible for their success and well-being rather than blaming external, institutional conditions. While ostensibly promoting female empowerment, the videos update and reinforce patriarchal gender norms and expectations. To substantiate this point, I analyze music videos of the most successful K-pop group, Girls’ Generation’s “Into the New World” (2007) and “All Night” (2017) to investigate how they promote resilience discourse along with neoliberal positive psychology as a hegemonic ideal of female subjectivity.

Abstract

Relations between political parties and music are fraught with issues over effectiveness, limitations and opportunities. On the one hand, political parties and movements use the appeal of popular music to attract audiences who otherwise may not be attentive to their views. On the other hand, mixing the two has seen music and politics “reduced to their lowest common denominator” (Street 1988, 50). Here, I examine how political parties employ popular music to articulate party specific discourses. Leaning on Multimodal Critical Discourse Studies and musicology, I analyse the lyrics, visuals and musical sounds of musical advertisements prepared for two Turkish political events: A parliamentary election campaign and a presidential referendum campaign. Through a detailed analysis I reveal the discourses articulated, how these are articulated and the strengths and shortcomings of musical advertisements as a means of communicating party political discourses.

Abstract

This article considers the sonic construction of place in English folk music recordings. Recent shifts in the political context have stimulated renewed interest in English identity within folk music culture. Symbolic struggles over folk’s political significance highlight both the contested nature of English identity and music’s semantic ambiguity, with texts being interpolated into discourses of both ethnic purity and multiculturalism. Following research in popular music, sound studies and multimodal communication this article explores the use of field recording to explore questions of place and Englishness in the work of contemporary folk artists. A multimodal analysis of Stick in the Wheel’s From Here: English Folk Field Recordings (2017) suggests that a multimodal approach to musical texts that attends to the semantic affordances of sound recording can provide insight into folk music’s role in debates over the nature of English identity.

Abstract

This paper deconstructs how religious musical eulogies, as the most important discursive practices of Shi’a rituals (Ghaffari 2019), were used as “war songs” serving to construct the Iranian national identity during the 1980–1988 Iraq-Iran war. These musical practices (in)formed the wider ideological and persuasive rhetoric of Iranians. In this paper, I analyse the textual and musical features of the audio-recorded versions of ten well-known war songs. The Discourse-Historical Approach (Reisigl and Wodak 2016) is used to analyse the discursive strategies and persuasive rhetorical tools within the lyrics. I draw on Machin (2010), Machin and Richardson (2012) and van Leeuwen (1999) to analyse various features of voice and the modality of sounds. This paper concludes that, by reflecting the power of religious discourse in the non-religious and highly nationalistic occasion of war, Iranian war songs were inspired by the religious eulogies in encouraging the Iranian nation to attend the war fronts.

This article reviews How the Workers became Muslims; Immigration, Culture and Hegemonic Transformation in Europe

This article reviews The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Politics

This article reviews Gender, Power and Political Speech: Women and Language in the 2015 UK General Election978-1-137-58751-0

This article reviews The Discursive Construction of Class and Lifestyle: Celebrity chef cookbooks in post-socialist Slovenia978-9027206664£44